Well, im 17 years old right now. 145 pound and about 5’6 i guess.
I really want to try squats, deadlifts, and some olympic style lifts. Ive read many times about their overall benefits.
Ive thought and even been told about the effect it can have on my growth though. Considering I have about 3 more years before my major growth will begin to slow down, I dont wanna screw that up. Will these sort of exercises stunt my height growth in any way? I dont want it to sound stupid but im very curious about this.
Thanks alot for all the help guys, Ive posted several times and Id like to thank you all for the help youve been giving me. I just started lifting about 4 weeks ago and I love it.
In my opinion, once you hit 16 you’re good to go on all lifts, doing them properly of course. And lifting has never been shown to stunt growth, it’s a myth. What’s harmful is doing lifts (like the squat and deadlift) improperly before you’re fully grown, that can be bad. Then again, that can be bad at any time.
[quote]GymRat wrote:
In my opinion, once you hit 16 you’re good to go on all lifts, doing them properly of course. And lifting has never been shown to stunt growth, it’s a myth. What’s harmful is doing lifts (like the squat and deadlift) improperly before you’re fully grown, that can be bad. Then again, that can be bad at any time.[/quote]
Bing, we have a winner. To explain it a bit further, though, in case any authority figures (like misinformed coaches) try to tell you otherwise:
-The force needed to injure a growth plate is astronomical; kids jump from jungle gyms all the time without incurring knee plate injuries, and the force generated by such a jump is approximately equal to a 3.5x bodyweight squat.
-Even among elite competitive O-lifters, ephesial plate injuries just don’t happen. And, not to be mean, you’re not handling close to the weight they are. Unless you have some sort of pre-existing growth problem, you won’t do any harm other than a few bumps and bruises.
Awesome, im glad to hear it. Id love to incorporate it somehow.
When it comes to doing it properly…
after i read some websites about proper form, are there any little ‘screw-ups’ that are common in form for beginners like me. Id like to know just in case. I mean its possible even after reading up on form that i could mess something up.
[quote]gibran wrote:
When it comes to doing it properly…
after i read some websites about proper form, are there any little ‘screw-ups’ that are common in form for beginners like me. Id like to know just in case. I mean its possible even after reading up on form that i could mess something up.[/quote]
Getting short videos of yourself lifting for others to critique helps a LOT in this regard. Putfile, yousendit, etc. are all free hosting sites you can put short clips on.
Some common problems are bending the elbows/pulling with the arms to get the bar up rather than pulling one’s self under the bar after the second pull, mistiming for starting the second pull (this just takes practice), not keeping the elbows up in the catch position, and the most embarassing one I did, overdoing the s curve on the snatch so that you throw the bar bouncing behind you.
Okay, so maybe that’s not common.
Also, make sure the bar is completely resting along your shoulders/clavicle when you initiate the dip for the jerk. If you’re using your tricep or shoulder strength to hold it up, you lose a lot of leg drive.
Which description are you basing your form off of so I/others can take a look at it? There’s about a thousand little things that could go wrong/not be optimal, I don’t want to bore you with things you’ve already read.
I remember when I just turned teenager, I would get a running start and jump over the side of my porch and land about 6 1/2 to 7 feet down on the concrete! aahhaha, It definitely sucked on the landing though. BAM!
For deadlifts and squats im gonna use my favorite site: ExRx. I get all my workouts from there. exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ThighWt.html
is the page with both on there.
i agree with legend, starvation and bad diet is what really fucks you up ( stunts ). eat like a friggin’ horse and lift heavy with excellent form and tempo,and you got another great decade or so of extreme drug free growth. peace brother.
If anything lifting should actually have the effect of making you taller.
Not only does the weight lifting strengthen and grow Muscle tissue but the bones as well are forced to grow densre and larger to be able to handle the new strength.